#joan and sherlock are in a qpr. to me

[detectivehdbholmes]

Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but Do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test. Do you love me stripped of everything that might be lost, for only the thing I will have for ever?

Essays in Love, Alain de Botton

[alexjcrowley]

No wonder I am aromantic I watched the entirety of Elementary as it was airing

[are-they-queerplatonic]

Do you see them as a QPR?

Reason to see them as a QPR under the cut:

"They are so. They are the male and female protagonists and, while there are jokes, they never canonically get together as a couple. They are actual besties, Joan moves to a different country because Sherlock is wanted by the US government for a murder he didnt commit, and the only reason he’s wanted is because he confessed to it because it was JOAN who was being investigated for a murder she didnt commit. Also they both call themselves “Two people who love eachother” and again, NEVER ENTER A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP. I love them so much.

Also they are both EXTREMELY ARO CODED. Sherlock never really shows any interest in romance outside of people that are extremely similar to him (read as: unless they also have autism like he does) and even then it feels more like him finding kinship in the few people in the world who are Like Him.

And Joan, at first, only dated guys who were in some way not alright (one was a sucky guy and the other was an addict), and when she starts dating a guy who is well adjusted and things are going WELL, she realizes she doesnt want to date him. Joan as a whole is a very nurturing character (not in a ‘female character is nice’ way) and clearly cares about the people around her, she was a sober companion when she met Sherlock. So I feel like the reason she dated guys with issues wasnt because ‘shes attracted to broken boys’ trope, it was a ‘due to past experiences, she wants someone to care for and help’. One of the biggest pieces of evidence to me is that she decides to adopt a child as a single mother. She went from Surgeon -> sober companion, she clearly loves and enjoys caring for people. I like to think the reason she disliked being a sober companion was because she wasnt challenging herself mentally enough, so she decided to become a detective with Sherlock full time.

Sorry this is so long I just love Joan Watson, I kiss her mwah mwah mwah"

[queer-benoit-blanc]

In Elementary 2x12 'The Diabolical Kind', Moriarty says to Joan:

"It's what you crave, is it not? Acknowledgement from a superior mind? Evidence that you matter? Why else pursue a partnership with a man like Sherlock?"

I've always found it quite heartbreaking that the woman Sherlock describes as the 'great love' of his life can't seem to understand why Joan would want to spend time with him unless it's for personal gain.

Contrast that with Joan in 3x18 'The View from Olympus':

"I knew it was only a matter of time before one of these women fell in love with you"

Joan knows and cares about Sherlock, and she believes wholeheartedly that he is loveable, that others can care about him just as much as she does.

Sherlock and Joan mean so much to me. I'm so glad they found each other. QPR of all time.

[benjaminthesnail]

no no i completely understand. the amatonormativity and comphet blinders were on in full swing in 2002 but sometimes i think I'm biased.

Every time I see a good m/f ship (well any ship really) that's really does the work of grounding their coming together in mutual admiration and understanding - I immediately clock it as qpr (mainly thinking of Huntlow and Fakiru). I find that in those situations, I take most of the shipping as not explicitly romantic until they like, kiss or something and then it really kills something inside of me. idk if I’ve ever seen anything else specifically qpr in the shows that I’ve seen, but some really good ones are the relationship between Joan and Sherlock in Elementary and Elliot&Hardison/Parker in Leverage - but these are examples in American media. if you have any other recs, I’d love to hear them.

Not saying anything I haven’t already said but it’s 2 in the morning and I have feelings about this!! I want more queerplatonic art and interpretations in the tutu fandom sooooo bad. I keep coming back to how it’s so rare to have a show of this genre where the boy and the girl stay friends without any pressure to make their relationship “something more,” and that really resonates.

It’s not a bad thing but it’s a little sad to me that the tag is so focused on romantic shipping when there are so many other ways to explore the relationships in the show. I would love to see more people engaging with the text in ways that don’t fit in with the conventional relationship script.

Duck feels she is lacking in some fundamental human quality, a narrative that is so very often, an aspec one. For a show that’s so entrenched in amatonormativity I connected with the narrative of tutu in a way that I do with so few shows because it feels so fundamentally aspec. And I want to explore the shit out of that!!

The way the show develops it’s central relationships really resonates with me—rather being built upon some nebulous attraction the foundation of many central relationships come from a place of deep admiration. There is no expectation that that admiration must blossom into romance. At the end of the day, the world is saved through a friendship. There’s no NEED for it to be anything else because that love is complete just as it is. There’s no lack felt—only the strength of what’s already there.

And that said, I feel like when engaging with fanwork that quality is often missing. The idea that these relationships hold the same strength and validity whether they’re platonic or romantic doesn’t always carry through. And don’t get me wrong, I love to see a cute couple. But I wish there was more exploration of the weird nebulous up to interpretation not-quite-romantic, not-quite-platonic relationships the show gives us. It can go either way so it’s so strange to me that fandom tends to gravitate towards only one outcome to these options

Anyways, this is my rallying cry, JOIN ME IN QUEERING PRINCESS TUTU

[galaxythreads]

One of the things I really appreciate about Elementary is how totally chill it is with the lgbtq community. Ms. Hudson is trans. No one says anything or misgenders her. She is just Ms Hudson. Suspects are gay, murderers are gay, police are gay. It's heavily implied that Hannah Gregson, Captain Gregsons daughter, is either lesbian or in some type of qpr with her roomate in s6. there is no message that being gay is linked with being secretly evil. People are just people in elementary. Joan and Sherlock are always extremely respectful of sexuality and/or gender identity despite the fact that both of them are straight. Gay jokes are said and are both extremely accepting and very funny. Gay the geologist's introduction is still one of the funniest scenes in media to me. Like sexuality is very much just something There not something they had to make a fanfare about. Elementary uses it as plot twists sometimes. People are sometimes homophobic yeah, but not the main cast, and it just feels REAL. I really appreciate that.

[help-i-need-a-cool-username]

So for AAW this year i decided to explore some QPRs since ive never done that before (does that even qualify for AAW?). So without further ado (i'll try to keep it quick) these are the relationships that give me the strongest QPR vibes theres no particular order just a attempted color gradient

1. Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes (Elementary)

Ive talked about these two before for AAW 2019(?) so ill touch on them briefly (and i'll put the link in the notes). Disclaimer: This is a show that i watched in bits and pieces, almost primarily from reruns. The longterm focus of this show is clearly these two's relationship. In the beginning they were stuck together, and then they chose to be together but they still had issues, at one point they stop talking to each other (like legit didnt talk one of them moved away and they didnt stay in contact), were together with issues again, and then they were primarily okay, and at one point left/fled the country together even though only one of them had to. Throughout the show there are these spoken moments that really tell the depth of their relationship, from either them or other characters. Off the top of my head theres "you named a species of bee after me," "i think shes the person you love most in this world," "i consider you to be a exceptional person. So i make a exceptional effort to accommodate you," "this is your home," "i'll stay. Of course i'll stay," and that line in the picture. They dont seem to struggle that much when it comes to describing their relationship and believe "partners" sums it up best. They live together, see each other as the most important/favorite person in their lives, and are raising a child together.

2. Aziraphale and Crowley (Good Omens)

Im not sure these two count, being not human and all. In the show and in the fandom (and i assume the book) people, and they themselves, struggle to understand their relationship and on top of that they arent supposed to be on good terms with each other (one is a angel and one is a demon). Are they friends? Enemies? Boyfriends? Best friends? Crowley at one point comes to the conclusion that never having Aziraphale in his life again is worse than the end of the world. One of the definitions for a QPR is "undefinable relationship," which fits nicely here.

3. Mako Mori and Raleigh Becket (Pacific Rim)

Disclaimer: i havent seen this movie since it was in theaters and therefore dont remember much. If i had know what a QPR was when i saw this movie it would have made so much more sense. One of the background themes is strong relationships (you cant power the robots without it) which includes familial, platonic, and romantic. These two were left ambiguous, all the shots were framed in that typical "they're gonna end up together by the end" way only for nothing to confirm it at the end. It was wonderful. You follow two different gendered strangers who become super important to each other and share all their darkest secrets and memories and give each other soft looks to not end up dating at the end. Wether or not you see it as a QPR its a movie that doesnt erase m/f friendship and thats just fantastic.

[sorry guys its 2am now these paragraphs are gonna be a little shorter]

4. Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau (Captain Marvel)

Before Carol disappeared it was clear she was living with Maria, her best friend, and helping her raise Monica, Maria's daughter, from a young age. Its clear her "death" greatly effected them.

5. Maka Albarn and Soul Eater Evans (Soul Eater)

I recently rewatched this show and their relationship on the surface seems like Two Kids Who Are Opposites And Dont Like Each Other Are Forced To Do Group Project type relationship but its actually so much deeper. They're roommates and best friends and each think the other one is the greatest person they know. They both have arcs centered around protecting the other. Soul states on multiple occasions that he's not into Maka, and Maka compares their partnership to her parents' marriage but never actually expects or acts like Soul is her boyfriend. Its clear they're gonna stay together for a long time coming.

6. Clint Barton and Kate Bishop (Marvel Comics)

Okay so i could say so much on this but let me start this off with a big Disclaimer: i have not read these comics, all of my knowledge comes from fan works (like the entirety of ao3 and tumblr) and wiki pages. These two. THESE TWO. Ahhh i dont even know what to say because i dont know if this is a thing where fanon versions are entirely OOC. These guys have something like a 12 year age difference, so from the outside their relationship seems weird. People (real or fictional idr) keep trying to slot them into familial roles (big brother and little sister, uncle and niece, dad and daughter) but the truth is they're friends and partners. Ya its a little weird with their age difference but if they were both 10 years older most people wouldn't even notice the age difference. Clint makes it clear to us just how much he loves Kate. She's super important to him. Just looking for pics for this post i saw so many panels displaying how close they are. Idk if its canon or not but fanfic really gave the impression Kate basically lives part time at his place. These two give me vibes that they have the kind of closeness where they could cuddle on the couch together and it wouldnt be weird. And i mean full horizontal doing a balancing act in order to get them both to stay on the couch between the backrest and the edge so they could nap. Like if one of them was married their spouse wouldnt be surprised to wake up in the morning and find them both eating breakfast in their PJs. Like these two would kiss on the mouth but it wouldnt be romantic at all just a way to express emotion. They just give me this vibe thats led to so many headcanons and idek if its canon

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Yes!! Other examples that often get me in hot water when I call them QPPs or aroace because they're so popularly seen as allo or allo-relationships:

Spock and Jim

Sherlock and John/Joan

The Eleventh Doctor

Jean Valjean (Les Mis)

Data and Geordi (Star Trek TNG)

And I could go on but like. These are all characters that have been either canonically stated to be aro and/or ace (I have receipts), or have given a preponderance of evidence to that fact (such as not understanding love and being confused when others experience it...I have a whole big post about aro!Spock)

Anyways idk if you were looking for more QPR/aspec-coded relationships to give you a bit of life, but as a fellow rep-starved aroace I figured I'd drop a few of my favorites there. There aren't many examples of what we want but they are out there!

Hi so friendly reminder that Aziraphale is canonically asexual (and probably aromantic) in the books and it can be inferred that Crowley is too. While it is clear in the tv series that they love each other they show absolutely no interest in sex or romance whatsoever - with each other or with anyone else. I get why people want to ship them in a gay relationship and I know that that representation is important but also there are lots of other fandoms you can go to and find similar ships (some of them even cannon!) Basically what I am saying is that Aziraphale and Crowly are the only canonical aro/ace queerplatonic partnership that I have ever ever ever seen and please don’t take that away from me. 

[detectivehdbholmes]

If there is life after the earth-life, will you come with me? Even then? Since we're bound to be something, why not together? Imagine!

Mary Oliver, ''West Wind''

[bannedfromtheaters]

Joan Watson (Elementary)

AggressivelyArospecWeek (7/7) Joan might as well have ‘aro’ stapled to her forehead. She engages and enjoys sexual relationships, but it’s canon she feels uncomfortable in romantic situations. Her platonic relationship with Sherlock is very much QPR-coded.

I wanted to close off this week with Elementary, because these two showed me the value of being aromantic back in a time I could not see it myself. It means the world to me, even three years later.

[sandalaris]

For the salty asks: 1, 2, 4, 18, 22, and 23?

I’m going to preface this by saying that the OTP questions confuse me because I don’t see how a fandom can have an OTP. OTPs are personal, the fan prefered ship is what I’m pretty sure the questions saying “OTPs in your fandom” actually mean.

Also, I’m answering on mobile, so there’s that.

1. What OTPs in your fandom (fan prefered pairing, dammit!) do you just not get?I don’t know that there’s one I just don’t get. Even if I don’t ship them, I usually don’t just completely not understand how someone could. The closest thing would be Joan/Sherlock from Elementary. I ship them in a QPR and can’t really see them romantic. But they are also the two main characters of the show, clearly love each other above all else, and have pretty much a platonic marriage. All which are common in popular ships.

2. Any popular OTPs in your fandoms (fan prefered ships!!!) you only brOTP?Oh, yeah.Dean and Castiel from SupernaturalDaryl and Carol from Walking DeadRick and Daryl from Walking DeadAre Stiles and Scott shipped hard? Because I broship them like crazy. (Joanlock does not count here, because I QPR ship them, not broship or romantic ship.)

4. Do you have any nOTPs? Almost one for each of my fandoms, lol.Are they a popular OTP for others?Oh yeah. Even some fandom prefered ships. Some examples: Spuffy (Spike/Buffy, BtVS), Destiel (Dean/Castiel, SPN), Caryl (Daryl/Carol, Walking Dead), Parker/Hardison (Leverage, although this is an odd one because I love them with Eliot is added), Harmony (Harry/Hermione), Hinny (Harry/Ginny, also known as my NOTP to end all NOTPs), Dramione (Draco/Hermione), Ron/Luna…and I think that’s it for Harry Potter.

18. Does not shipping something “popular” mean you’re in denial or biased?Hell to the no! Shipping is one hundred percent just a matter of taste/personal preference. If something didn't appeal to you, it didn’t appeal. Some people have a “type” of ship they enjoy, some it’s whatever catches their fancy, some people only ship canon, others rarepairs, others don’t ship hardly at all and even others ship almost everything under the sun. If it’s popular and you just don’t see it/ship it, that’s fine. All it means is that it’s not for you. Now, if someone goes around saying “no one should ship *such and such* because of X,” than damn straight they are being at the very least a prick and most likely biased as well.

22. Popular character you hate? Uh, not really? I don’t hate a lot of characters. I guess maybe Carol from Walking Dead, but it was never hate so much as she pissed me off for a season while everyone else seemed to still be singing her praises. Even then I didn’t hate her, I just hated watching her going down a path I felt was going to end up killing her or turning her into a villian.

23. Unpopular character you love?So many! Dawn (and apparently Xander, since Tumblr seems to hate him) from BtVSMila from Teen Wolf (she’s freakin’ awsome!)Kilgrave from Jessica Jones (he was an awesome villian and I was sad to see him die. I wanted to watch him mindfuck with everyone for another season)I didn’t love Lori from Walking Dead, but I liked herSame with Carl, I liked him all through “we all hate Carl” phase the fandom went throughI’m sure there are more I’ll think of later

[help-i-need-a-cool-username]

I was orginally just gonna post a few off the top of my head but everyone went crazy in the notes with their long lists so im going all the way and bring my phone list ive been updating out

Elementry just ended and no one can pry (what is practically canon) QPR Sherlock and Joan from me (i was lit JUST reading fanfic of them hiding her cancer from her son actually lol)

Also Carol Danvers is in a QPR with Maria Rambeau

hey do y’all wanna share your aro headcanons?

I’ll go first: I hc Sirius Black to be aro and Remus Lupin to be aroflux and in a QPP

[caladblog]

hO MY GOD i canNOT beLIEVE that i forgot about my favorite time of year, SHIPPING MARCH MADNESS!!

i didn’t cheat while filling out any of these, i haven’t looked at the standings yet or paid attention at all because basketball is not a sport that i comprehend or care about in the slightest. i’ll have an up-to-date bracket posted in a few minutes

serialized images = print comics, webcomics, & mangas

serialized A/V things = tv shows, cartoons, & podcasts

under the cut is an explanation of how to play, a key to the symbols i’ve used because i am either really bad or really good at shipping, and a list of ships if you can’t read my atrocious handwriting!

HOW TO PLAY:

step 1: go back in time til before the tournament started write out a list of 64 ships! i like to split mine into divisions based on media type, but you can split it up based on fandom, or sexuality, or anything you want. or you can just randomize this shit! the first rule of shipping march madness is always talk about shipping march madness, the second rule is there are no rules go nuts

step 2: rank the ships in each division from 1 (your hill to die on) to 16 (eh)

step 3: snag a blank bracket from somewhere and fill it out!

step 4: a ship is advanced to the next round when its corresponding team wins, a ship is eliminated when its corresponding team loses. basic bracket stuff, you know how this works

step 5: for the ship that wins the tournament, create something new! fanfic, art, video, fanmix, even just a nice post about why you care about this ship. it doesn’t have to be fancy, you don’t have to be “good” at “art” to play! hell, look at ME, this is my fourth year straight

that’s funny because so far all my winners have been femslash

SYMBOL KEY:

as i am very advanced in the shipping technologies (read: aromantic and not fully sure what a plain-ass relationship looks like tbh), i use a lot of symbols to specify what i mean in a particular ship.

[♥] and [/] = straight-up regular romance and/or sex

[♠] = hatesex

[♦] = kind of like a qpr? basically, these people care intensely about each other, put each other above everything, but it’s not romantic/sexual

please do not be put off by these two explanations from h.omestuck: general explanation & diamonds in particular

[symbol]/[symbol] = the relationship flips between the two types shown

[->] = unrequited feelings from the left about the right

[&] = not a ship, i just want to investigate the dynamic between these characters

LIST OF SHIPS BC MY HANDWRITING IS ATROCIOUS:

MOVIES feat. fury road, cap 2, pacific rim, repo! the genetic opera (shut up i know), the man from uncle, and the book of life:

1. toast/dag/cheedo 16. gaby/illya/napoleon 8. sam/nat 9. sam/bucky 5. furiosa/max 12. nat ♦ clint 4. mako/raleigh 13. amber sweet ♠ graverobber 6. angharad -> furiosa 11. nat & fury 3. furiosa/valkyrie 14. barbershop quartet 7. angharad/capable 10. sam/steve 2. tres leches 15. graverobber ♦ shilo

VIDEO GAMES feat. remember me, fire emblem, lifeline, portal, we know the devil, and oxenfree:

1. nilin ♠ olga 16. zelgius -> sephiran 8. caineghis/giffca 9. nailah/rafiel 5. tanith/sigrun 12. taylor/lifeline 4. chelldos 13. petrine ♠ naesala 6. nilin ♦ headache tommy 11. heather/nephenee 3. a new apple 14. clarissa/nona 7. ranulf/skrimir 10. leanne/naesala 2. oscar/kieran 15. shinon & titania -> greil

SERIALIZED IMAGES feat. loki: aoa, fma, widdershins, riverside extras, young avengers, ms. marvel (current run), angela: queen of hel, h.omestuck, harrow county, and snakeladders:

1. loki ♦ verity 16. dolcetto/roa/martel/greed 1.0 8. mal ♦ wolfe 9. nick ♠/♦ ophelia 5. amerikate 12. kamala/mike 4. sera/angela 13. sollux ♦ terezi 6. simon ♦ nick 11. ling/lanfan/greed 2.0 3. emmy/bernice 14. kamaria/crimefriend 7. olivier/miles/buccaneer 10. loki -> sigurd 2. simon ♥/♠ ophelia 15. olivier ♠ roy

SERIALIZED A/V THINGS feat. steven universe, elementary, archive 81, criminal minds, wolf 359, lucifox (how is this still on the list...), and atla:

1. pearl/rose 16. famethyst 8. joan ♠ moriarty 9. dan ♥/♠ clara 5. lapis ♠ jasper 12. garcia ♦ morgan 4. minkowski ♥/♠ lovelace 13. reid/prentiss/morgan 6. sherlock ♦ joan 11. maxwell ♦ jacobi 3. eiffel -> minkowski 14. mazikeen ♠ amenadiel 7. bell -> joan & sherlock 10. mai/ty lee/azula 2. yellow/blue/pink diamonds 15. pearl/mystery girl